~ Village Teacher – The Book & Photographs

Cowbirds

I saw Cowbirds for the first time this year. They looked like House Finches, but were visibly bigger.

Female Cowbird.

Female Cowbirds are brood parasites, laying their eggs in other birds’ nests, and letting their children be raised by other birds. These new Cowbirds appeared with the bunch of House Finches that we usually see around our bird feeder, so maybe they had House Finches as surrogate parents and siblings.

Female Cowbird.

For comparison, here’s a shot of a male House Finch.

Male House Finch.

Because of their aggressive brood parasitism, Cowbirds are said to be a threat to other bird specie by overwhelming and outgrowing them

Dries, I had to look this one up: Cowbirds live on grasslands and attach themselves to cattle. They sit on them and watch for insects stirred up by cattle to catch and eat them. That is also why they developed the habit of laying their eggs in other birds’ nests, so that they can concentrate on staying with the cows and look for food.